How Does Intellectual Capital Affect the Financial Performance of Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Hotel Companies?
How Does Intellectual Capital Affect the Financial Performance of Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Hotel Companies?

Summary/Abstract: Theoretical background: Intellectual capital is often considered a critical resource, especially for micro, small, and medium-sized, as well as service companies. Human, structural, and relational capital are often listed as the main components of intellectual capital. This study complements the studies on the impact of intellectual capital and its components on the financial performance of hotel companies in developing economies.Purpose of the article: The study aims to examine the impact of the efficiency of intellectual capital and its components on the financial performance of micro, small, and medium-sized hotel companies in Serbia. The results of the study can be of importance for hotel managers in their efforts to make adequate business decisions and improve the financial performance of hotel companies.Research methods: The sample includes 100 micro, small, and medium-sized hotel companies from Serbia with the highest operating revenues in 2019. The efficiency of the intellectual capital and its components is measured by using the modified value-added intellectual coefficient (MVAIC). Financial performance is measured by using the natural logarithm of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), EBITDA margin, return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE). Ordinary least squares regression is used to examine the impact of intellectual capital and its components on the financial performance of sample hotel companies from 2015 to 2019.Main findings: The results of the study show that intellectual capital efficiency has a positive impact on all four measures of financial performance. They also show that structural capital has the greatest impact on financial performance and that only this component of intellectual capital has a positive impact on all four measures of financial performance. Capital employed has a positive impact on the natural logarithm of EBITDA and ROE, while human capital has a positive impact on the EBITDA margin and a negative on the natural logarithm of EBITDA. Relational capital has a positive impact only on ROA.

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